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By Hannah GibbensDisclaimer: I can only answer for Wheelchair based or Cerebral Palsy based questions

I’ve been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy since I was a year old, but I’ve had it since I was born. For anyone who doesn’t know what CP is, it’s caused by brain damage before birth, during birth, or immediately after birth. It affects the muscle movement, muscle coordination, and reflex. With almost 16 years under my belt, I’ve heard almost all iterations of questions that could be asked.

Do you sleep in a bed? Or do you just sleep in your chair?

I sleep in a bed (an amazingly comfy bed that sits up (and no not because I’m disabled, I just liked the bed and how it moves.) As far as I know of most people in chairs sleep in bed.

Being in a Wheelchair must be AMAZING right? You don’t have to do anything

NO! No one likes being imprisoned in a chair their whole life! Watching everyone running around and back flipping and everything else we can’t do. Plus chairs absolutely mess up your back and hips to the point you think your a 90 year old in a 16 year old body.

Do you Pee?

Yes we pee just like you do, we just need help moving.. We even go number 2… and some of us…. we bleed!!! OH MY GOD!! I know, shocker!

Do you Shower?

Mhm. You ready for this ? We. Sit. In the shower! People even help us !

Wow you're in Mainstream School? Isn’t that hard?

Yes it’s hard but it’s the same difficulty as everyone else who’s in mainstream school. Yes sometimes we get exceptions which is nice, but exceptions aren’t just even to us.

Those were a small little chunk of questions; I could go on for ever. Let me get this straight, Disabled people don’t mind answering ridiculous questions like this. It’s fun, but sometimes just think before you ask. Becausethe answers can depend on the person's mood. Their answer might be more sarcastic. Also, disabled people, like most people, like being asked questions and being able to explain things, so don’t be shy to ask. Just be warned that answers may vary.